Already reeling from the impacts of climate change and plastic pollution, our ocean now faces another threat: deep-sea mining. The massive machines that would be deployed to mine the seabed for critical minerals would destroy ocean ecosystems that developed over tens of millions of years. Entire habitats would be wiped out; scraping ore-rich crusts from seamounts would be akin to mountaintop coal removal, killing corals and other immobile species.

Mining proponents maintain that seabed minerals must be mined to support clean-energy technologies, but a report by Planet Tracker casts doubt on this claim. Ocean Conservancy rejects industry’s assertion as a false choice. Instead, we call for a global moratorium on seabed mining. 

The ocean plastics crisis serves as a potent reminder that the recycling of materials we are already using should be prioritized over the production of virgin materials. Scaling EV battery recycling to achieve 100% circularity combined with the next generation of nickel- and cobalt-free batteries are alternative strategies that could obviate the need for deep-sea minerals or metals.

Some claim deep-sea mining is justified because the deep sea is relatively lifeless, but this is patently untrue. Earlier this year, scientists discovered 5,000 new species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) alone, including the enigmatic gummy squirrel and the delicate star-shaped dytaster. The CCZ seafloor, located between Hawaii and Mexico, is rich in potato-sized nodules that deep-sea mining companies are hungry to extract for critical minerals, directly threatening a variety of sea creatures, some newly discovered or even unknown to science. 

Mineral-rich hydrothermal vents serve as another habitat in the deep sea and support a diversity of unique animals found nowhere else on Earth, some with huge biomedical potential. For example, scientists isolated an enzyme from a microbe living near a vent that led to the development of a test for diagnosing COVID-19. How many species could we lose to deep-sea mining that might otherwise be the next antibiotic or anti-cancer drug?

It’s not just the immediate seabed that is at risk from mining. An analysis by Ocean Conservancy raises concerns about the impacts of seabed mining in United States federal waters on species living in the water column. Our paper explains that commercially valuable fishes in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands or Gulf of Alaska (two areas with prospective critical minerals) could be susceptible to sediment plumes generated by mining operations. Researchers confirm that jellyfishes living at depths of 1,500-2,000 feet in the mesopelagic zone showed signs of stress when exposed to sediments like those found at potential mining sites. This is important because mesopelagic species are critical to the ocean food web and the carbon cycle. Harm from mining tailings (toxic byproducts of mining), potentially traveling hundreds of miles, could have major ecological and climate-ripple effects.

Another major concern is ineffective governance. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is the body charged with managing the international seabed for “the common heritage of mankind” while ensuring sufficient measures are in place to protect the marine environment. Tragically, this mandate is not unfolding in practice. Corporate mining interests have an outsized influence at the ISA, which calls into question the credibility of this body to develop effective regulations that are centered around ocean health.

Unfortunately, until the United States ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it has no voting authority at ISA. A group of bipartisan senators is now urging ratification so that the United States can have a voice in seabed mining decisions. 

But even without a voice at the ISA, the Biden administration can and must take immediate and meaningful action here at home. First, it should issue a moratorium on mining in United States federal waters to safeguard the health of species, habitats, fisheries and critical seabed infrastructure such as telecommunications cables. Second, it can and must avoid incentivizing the destruction of the deep sea outside the United States by prohibiting the importation of marine minerals that would otherwise be eligible for electric vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.  

We have too often witnessed the unchecked damage extractive industries inflict on our ocean. The fossil fuel industry has left countless scars: thousands of miles of pipelines, oil wells boring deep into the seabed and oil spills laying waste to marine ecosystems and wildlife. These serve as sobering reminders that seabed mining would further harm our ocean. 

The United States must send a strong message to the world that we can transition from fossil fuels to clean-energy technologies without needlessly sacrificing fragile and remote deep-ocean ecosystems.